The Story
by Renolvr
Summary: He'd always had a mouth to be wary of,along with a straight forward manner,but Reno had never thought they day would come when those attributes would be his downfall. Rewrite of "My Life Story" from Endless.


**_A/N: This oneshot was originally part of a co-authoring project called "Endless" with Angel Crisis Eos, which can be found on her profile. I recently read back over the original and wasn't happy, it was kinda flat(?), anyhow - I rewrote it. It's still the main idea and events, I just expanded on the story with a little background in thoughts and such. I wanted this to be subbed into the original in Endless, but Eos seemingly doesn't want to, though an answer would have been nice too. Anyhow - please let me know what you think huns._**

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Darkness had long since fallen by the time he managed to find his way back home. Home being defined in this case as a rather bleak apartment, but it was cheap, which was the main thing, and therefore sufficed. It was better than the slums - anything was better than the slums - that's what he kept telling himself anyhow.

Reno hid a yawn behind his hand as he kicked the bottom of his front door while twisting the key at the same time and pushing inwards - stupid door always got stuck. He heaved a sigh as he kicked the door shut behind him, putting more strength than was needed into the kick - he was pissed off and tired. For once in his life, the young man could honestly hold his hand up and say he'd done a hard days' work…fat bastard had refused to die!

The wiry Turk kicked off his dark sneakers as he passed the couch, resisting the urge to simply lay down and sleep - he would have gladly crawled into a hole somewhere and slept for a week, if the opportunity had arisen - but there was no way in hell he was going to allow himself to sleep with that much blood marring his skin, and as if getting splash-back from that fat idiot the President had wanted eliminated hadn't been bad enough - he'd received an utter earful from Tseng because of the blood - well what did he expect in all fairness? Bang-band - no splatter?! He had flipped too though; even he had to admit that. Reno shook his head as he thought back over the words he literally yelled across the briefing room at the head-Turk upon being talked down to:

"_I swear to fucking god yo! You don't learn to get the hell off my back, you can go look for my replacement! I'll fucking quit this shit, and y'know what?! I'd join AVALANCHE just to spite you all! Give ShinRa a run for it's precious gil! You want things done differently, then stop giving me all the fucking assassin missions Tseng!"_

He hated hindsight…it made you realise that you _**could**_ have crossed a line, but it only makes you realise that _**after**_ it's been done and when you can do nothing about it. Still though, he had been severally pissed off - Tseng knew that - he knew how he worked, and knew they had only been empty words. With a slight sigh, he turned and headed straight for the shower, again ignoring the urge to crash on his couch.

The young man remained silent as the hot water beat down hard on his shoulders, slowly but surely erasing the proof of a successful mission to a possible competitor's household - he figured The President was an extremely insecure person...the slightest possibility of a competitor and he'd ordered for an elimination of said possibility. It was over another fifteen or twenty minutes before he stepped out of the shower, satisfied that all traces of blood had been washed down the drain...he paused over the sink as he wiped the condensation from the mirror - his reflection staring right back at him, he watched the mirror as he allowed his thoughts to wander yet again.

"When the hell did I sign up for this shit?!"

It was a stupid question to ask, even he knew that himself - he hadn't signed up for anything - he'd been signed in because he'd been causing too much hassle in the slums...the usual story; broken home, AWOL Dad, crack-head Mom, dealer uncle, whore aunt - sure, some neighbours had called Social Services and the whole deal - but it was always the same, they came, they investigated, they sent him to a foster home with overly friendly people who tried to make him talk about his feelings, and then sent him back to the hell-hole he'd come to recognise as his home - and people honestly wondered why he had turned out the way he had?! Still though, trust ShinRa to take a reportedly untameable kid and turn him into a top rate assassin. Reno shook his head as he turned away from the mirror, remembering all the years he'd spent in the slums as a kid, all the dreams he'd had back then, the life he was adamant about making for himself...and here he was, the very same, sure taller, older, stronger, more skilled and paid - but all he was still killing and doing other's dirty work for a price.

_**I've been thinking of everything,**_

_**I used to want to be.**_

_**I've been thinking of everything,**_

_**Of me, of you and me.**_

Easier said than done - he was a Turk now, trained in the skills or assassination, fighting and piloting. He would never have a normal life now. He was the one Turk that Tseng seemed to give all the tough assignments to, the type of ones which would force other supposedly top Turks to mentally crack…he didn't have a conscience, well - to the best of his own knowledge he didn't. He'd grown up alone, seen stuff at a young age which would make adults cringe, seen death before he knew what the word meant, had known the main weak areas of an average person's body before he'd entered adolescence - and had been signed into the Turks at seventeen…two years later and he was one of the top…some other person would have been proud if they'd accomplished is, of that he was sure - but it was just nothing to him. He'd learned from an early age that you could depend on absolutely no one in this fucked up thing they called life, you were alone from day one and you depended on yourself and yourself singularly - that suited him down to the ground - other people just got in his way…that's what he kept telling himself anyway…

_**This is the story of my life,**_

_**These are the lies I have created.**_

He had been condoned to a life of constantly looking over his shoulder, people tended to bear grudges when ShinRa destroyed something or someone they knew or held dear to them…and thanks to Tseng's every so _**selective**_ picking of Turks for these missions; most of them knew to look for a nineteen-year-old ex-slums rat with red hair and mako eyes.

He was the Turk that pretty much all the assassination missions were given to - the way Tseng saw it, why ruin another Turk with the mental strain of taking relatively innocent lives when Reno was there? It was not that he saw this as the kid's only use or anything…god now - he was an extremely highly skilled asset to the Turks, and would probably go far once he got his head straightened out, if he ever did that was. It was just, Reno was so well and truly fucked up in the head at this stage, nothing seemed to damage him anymore. He could slaughter a whole family in one day, if that was what the assignment asked of his skills, then simply grin and shrug it off…like water off a duck's back, and truth be told, it was unsettling.

Tseng had actually tried to help the youngster upon noticing how things didn't seem to phase him, he'd dug up some old juvenile reports on the teenager, and social service's reports, he had tried to set him straight, honestly - but the kid had been way beyond help. Simply not giving a fuck about anything around him, nothing mattered in Reno's eyes - if he had to kill someone, then he had to kill someone, simple. Moreover, if by chance his own life became somehow put in jeopardy in the process of an assignment, it just made things interesting for him.

Reno understood his role in life well at this stage - he was at the bottom, he got rid of whoever was in the way, which was all he was wanted for, _**needed**_ for…, all he was good at...

_**I'm in the middle of nothing,**_

_**And it's where I want to be.**_

_**I'm at the bottom of everything,**_

_**And I finally start to leave.**_

That is the way his life had always been, and from where he sat; all it would ever amount to. Every month, maybe a little less - some begrudging connection to someone he had gotten rid of seemed to figure out where he lived, that's why he kept moving. Sure, he killed people for a living, but he was entitled to his time off and alone too? ShinRa wouldn't care either way, if someone did off him, he would just become another _**disappearance**_ - and who would even notice? ShinRa would simply replace him and strike his name and number off their payrolls. His family - what a hope! As far as he was concerned - he did not have a family. His mother had tracked him down once…she thick bitch had actually shown up at ShinRa…if there hadn't been so many people around, he swore he would have killed her immediately. And what had she wanted - to see her only kid? Nope. To apologize for the fuck-up of a life she had given him? Nope. To ask him to come home? Nope. His dearest mother had wanted nothing more than Gil. Gil to pay back his dealer uncle…he had never taken so much enjoyment out of telling her no, all the years he'd suffered bottled up inside…he'd tried not to make a show of himself on the stairs leading down to the reception - but she'd grabbed his arm, looking up at her son as she almost demanded the sum of gil…he didn't remember it all that much, just seeing the fear in her eyes as he'd yelled in her face, as he'd pulled his arm from her grip and pushed her away from him…the shear fear which had shown as she lost her footing and tripped on the top step…everyone else had ran to check on the woman who lay motionless at the bottom of the stairs - he hadn't though - he'd stood there and stared…he'd watched as crimson slowly seeped across the white tiles around her - and he'd felt nothing. Others had arrived, Tseng included, he just walked away from the whole scene and gone to get something to eat in the cafeteria.

_**This is the story of my life,**_

_**These are the lies I have created-**_

_**I created.**_

Thinking was a dangerous thing he decided. Reno yawned as he tied the belt on his jeans, turning as several loud thumps announced someone at the door to his apartment, closely followed by several more louder ones - whoever they were, they were fucking impatient! Reno groaned as more knocks came, he yelled at the door ahead of him as he walked towards it, pausing as he stubbed his foot of the side-table, earning a rather pissed off yell to the door as the knocks continued.

"I'm fuckin' coming yo! Calm down already!"

_**BANG**_

The pissed off Turk felt his knees crash painfully against the floor as a clear gunshot rang out, accompanied by a searing pain in his lower abdomen…he grimaced as he glanced up, several black-suited men were standing around him, he noticed one of the younger ones kick the door shut and turn the lock in it before pocketing the key - aww, he'd read his text book at Junon! They all had rather satisfying smirks on their faces, evidently enjoying the sight of him on his knees. One of the older men, around middle twenties in age, step forward as he cocked his handgun again.

"We've been sent to notify you of the immediate termination of your employment, Reno…"

"No shit yo…"

Reno cringed as he took his eyes from the Turks and looked down to his torso as he pulled his hand away, deep crimson dripped from his fingertips…_great_, whereas other companies just sent you a p45 or a pink slip, ShinRa sent Turks and a bullet. He smirked despite himself, he had been sent on so many missions of this type himself, he knew exactly what they expected the target to do, and he knew that not one of those idiots expected him to remember where he'd left his own gun. The youth played on his evident injury, feigning a pathetic attempt to escape the suits; dragging himself to his feet shakily and stumbling blindly back into the living room area before hitting the ground heavily alongside the couch, pretending that the bullet had done its job…

One of the older Turks sighed as he stepped forward and walked towards the seemingly dead young man…a kid in his eyes, his own son was only a year or so younger than the one laying at his feet, he glanced around the bleak apartment, taking note of the sneakers kicked off by the other end of the couch, the steam on the mirror he could see through the open bathroom door, a clear patch wiped across the otherwise condensation-covered glass, a loose t-shirt lay on the back of the couch, the kid evidently having left it out to wear after his shower, though things hadn't gone to plan, emphasized by his still visibly damp pony-tail and shirtless back staring up at him…

"I still remember when he got signed in - how old is he?"

"Nineteen..."

It took every ounce of self-control he possessed not to allow his eyes to shoot open in shock…it couldn't be him! Reno mentally cursed himself for not taking note of their faces better, at least that way he'd know he was wrong…why the hell would Tseng betray him like this?!

"What age was he recruited at?"

"Seventeen..."

"He's more skilled than most senior members, let alone newbies - why did the President order this?"

Tseng shrugged, an action he wasn't very accustomed to, as he kept his stance slightly behind the others - he didn't want to be a part of this - Reno was one of the specific Turks under his command, sure he was head-Turk and therefore above all, but Reno was part of his **_team_**. But the youngster had said his part earlier, and granted, he was still an teenager and tended to mouth off, like earlier when his temper got the better of him, but whether Reno had been simply mouthing off as usual to vent or had actually meant what he'd said, it was irrelevant - he had proclaimed his willingness to leave ShinRa and ally with an opposing organization, therefore, he was no longer seen as an asset or strength to the company, but a weakness. Any other time and Tseng would have disregarded the youngster's words as a bad day, but the fact of the matter was, he'd said what was on his mind, and it had been over heard - not ten minutes after Reno had left the building, had The President summoned him with a simply order: eliminate the weakness.

"He has become a liability to the Turks and to the company."

Reno bit his tongue, again using what self-control he hadn't used earlier while mouthing off to Tseng to prevent himself from doing so once again. He silently and slowly slipped his hand beneath the couch next to him, gripping the handgun beneath tightly…he froze immediately as fingers were placed on the side of his neck, pushing in against his jugular in search of a telltale pulse - the fingers were quickly taken back as a voice spoke.

"Damn it - the kid's still alive…"

Reno smirked as he heard the harrowing metallic sound of a bullet sliding into it's chamber - now seemed like an opportune moment…as quick as flash, the youth was back on his feet, a Turk lying on the floor of the apartment with a small precise wound in the middle of his forehead as he stared at the ceiling with glassy irises…none of the Turks had expected for one second that the teen had been playing them all, and because of their initial stunned silence, all their reactions were belated - something Reno quickly used to his advantage as he ducked and cocked his gun…the advantage of surprise ensured the youngster to be in his element.

_**And I swear to God,**_

_**I've found myself,**_

_**In the end...**_

Reno stood in the middle of his apartment, panting slightly, silently wondering which jackass had shot his fridge…he had just managed to take out a handful of Turks, and now on top of the tiredness he'd felt all along, the effects of blood loss were taking their tolls on his body. Only one Turk remained standing, having evaded the youth's onslaught…Reno locked his eyes onto the man, not attempting to hide the betrayal and anger which he was sure shone in their depths.

"You fucking two-faced bastard Tseng!"

Tseng simply nodded his head in compliance and agreement, taking the youngster's verbal abuse, he deserved it. He really didn't want to have to take a part in this mission, but now thanks to Reno, he had no choice in the matter - he had been given an order, and he had to act on it regardless of personal bias.

"I know, but I don't have a choice in this - you should know better than to go shooting your mouth off when Scarlet is around - if it had been just me, that would've been the end of it! But she reported your outburst to the President - this is **_his_** order Reno, not_** mine**_!"

Reno laughed in a sickly sarcastic fashion as Tseng cocked his handgun and took aim as he did the same - the hypocrisy was actually killing him! It was so easy for him to blame it on the job - he wasn't the one who was being ordered to disappear! The youngster held his breath as his finger tightened around the trigger…

_**Click -**_

Of all the goddamn times for a gun to stall…despite his weapons' evident malfunction, a gunshot still rang out, closely followed by another, and another, and another…with one final shot; the nineteen-year-old relinquished the grip and allowed his own gun to fall noisily to the ground, faltering as his feet crumbled below him…the whole world seemed to go sideways for one stomach turning split-second, then the floor met the side of his head with a painful jolt.

Tseng walked slowly towards the fallen youth, keeping his own gun cocked and ready in case it was another of Reno's acts - he had to give him credit for the one he'd pulled earlier, not even he had thought that the temperamental teen had been fooling them - but the teenager made no attempt to reclaim his gun as the Turk approached. Tseng kicked the gun clear of his reach as he bend down, feeling the youth's neck himself this time.

"Fuck sake Reno…that's a full magazine already - just give in…please."

Tseng shook head disbelievingly as he stood back up, replacing the empty magazine of his gun with another full one, the last remaining one having already entered the camber of his gun. A full magazine and the kid still had a pulse, weak but still clearly there. The head-Turk remained stonily silent as he turned his target over.

Reno grinned as he found himself staring up the barrel of a gun…this was definitely going down as his worst day at work - at least he hadn't gone down alone though, he'd managed to take a good few Turks with him in the end…he locked eyes with the other Turk again as his sense of humour picked the worst possible time to kick in.

"Tell Scarlet I'm gonna be her personal poltergeist yo…"

The youth trailed off as blood made it's way up his throat, flooding his mouth as he coughed and spat out a deep red liquid that rivalled the hue of his hair.

Tseng averted his gaze as he heard the coughing…the damn fucker was making this all the harder without even meaning to…Scarlet would pay for this somehow, of that he was adamant.

"Stop joking around, this isn't a joke."

Reno laughed again - people just loved pointing out the overly-obvious! This was boring him now though…his chest was ready to cave, or so it felt…every time he took a breath it seared, it was pretty obvious at this stage he wasn't gonna be the one walking out of this...not this time.

"No shit again yo - Good knowing ya Tseng…"

He was cut off again as the metallic tang of blood filled his mouth.

"See you on the other side Reno."

One final gunshot rang out as the mission was completed.

_**In the end.**_

_**This is the story of my life,**_

_**These are the lies I have created.

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A/N: Feedback would be highly appreciated, but thanks for reading either way huns! Lyrics are from 30 Seconds To Mars' "The Story", and all characters belong to Square Enix.  
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